by – Glen Palaca Hubahib, Esq.
The cost of war:
Over the years empires, kingdom and countries had to wage war for some reason or another. For example, territorial expansion and defensive action. We have known the impact it brought to Athens, Sparta, Carthage, Rome and Persia in antiquities. Then to Europe, Japan, Asia, China, and the Middle East in modern times. Presently, Ukraine and Gaza.
Culled from various sources, the financial cost for World War I was around $331 billion, around 10 million military deaths, over 13 million civilian deaths and not to mention millions of wounded, widows, orphaned and refugees.
US Army for twz.com
For World War II, around $1.3 trillion, 74 million people died and millions more widowed, wounded, orphaned and refugees.
The cost of war in Ukraine is over $524 billion, and the global economy is projected to lose $2.8 trillion. Add hundreds of thousands of deaths, widowed, orphaned and millions of refugees.
The ongoing war in Gaza cost over $100 billion, thousands of deaths and the displacement of the population.
Sane and calculating leaders and generals understand that waging and defending war is not cheap. For example, an F-16 jet is $60 billion and carries $1 million per unit sidewinder surface to air missiles. the Typhoon missile system battery (launcher, Battery Operations Center and support) is $233 million per unit. The launcher feeds standard missiles at $9.5 million per unit or Tomahawk at $4.8 million per unit. To be effective you need to have more. You can do the math in hundredth or thousandth increment to be effective. And friends only three countries have this type of hardware – the USA, Russia and China.
The US $5.58 billion sale of 20 F-16s to the Philippines. Staff Sgt. Jasmonet Holmes/US Air Force/File/CNN.
Add the logistics that include fuel, food, bullets etc. and the estimated cost will blow your mind.
Hence, I began to wonder if the Philippines is ready for a war with China. Because Commodore Jay Tarriela who is not a soldier, but a civilian Coast Guard employee is somewhat belligerent in his pronouncement on the South China Sea issue.
Just close your eyes for a moment and think how the Philippine economy can support an all-out war against China. Our GDP is around $400 million, and China is around $18 trillion. Philippine annual revenue is around $4 trillion and would borrow $3 trillion more to finance a 2025 budget laden with bloated and non-existent projects.
From the smell and eyes test alone, the Philippines does not stand a chance. So, what drives and motivates these leaders and policymakers to behave like we are going to war?
Visa bond:
Recently, Pres. Trump increased to $100K the employers must pay for H1B visa. This type of visa is the main source for recruiting thousands of IT foreign workers for companies such as Amazon, Meta, Tata, Microsoft and Apple among others. This is still within the fulfillment of his campaign promise to limit foreign workers by penalizing companies through higher filing fees.
What it does is slowdown the migration of workers to the USA as the latter embarks on a different tack to protect its local working population.
[Note: Glen Palaca Hubahib is admitted to practice law in California and the Philippines. He also holds Electrical Engineering and MBA degrees. The article is for information only and is not a legal advice. Send your comments to the author at hubahibg@gmail.com.]